June 2003

Garden opening marks celebration of reconciliation

The Baba Bik—mother earth—sculptural garden at Acheron Youth Camp was opened with a smoking ceremony to mark Sorry Day and National Reconciliation Week.

Acheron, a unit of the Melbourne Juvenile Justice Centre, is an alternative custodial option for young men aged 17–21 on Youth Training Centre Orders.

Located 100 kilometres outside Melbourne, Acheron offers young men the opportunity to work and participate in a range of training programs—including horticulture, woodwork, outdoor education, TAFE General Education, nutrition and food preparation.

Young men at Acheron also access counselling and other health programs.

Koorie Juvenile Justice workers are employed to work with young Aboriginal people involved with the juvenile justice program and maintain close ties with local Aboriginal communities.

This year’s National Reconciliation Week—with the theme Reconciliation: Together we’re doing it—offered the opportunity to focus on reconciliation, to hear about the culture and history of Australia’s indigenous people and to acknowledge the experiences of Aboriginal Australians.

Tunaungurung elder Judy Munk acknowledged the traditional owners of the land and welcomed the 100 guests to Acheron.

Brian Patterson, also a Tunaungurung elder, performed the smoking ceremony to cleanse the site.

Department of Human Services Operations Division Acting Executive Director Brian Joyce and Melbourne Juvenile Justice Centre Program Manager Mike Oliver also spoke at the opening of the garden.

Mr Oliver acknowledged the large number of people—both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal staff and young people—whose combined efforts created the Baba Bik garden.

‘As a reconciliation project it showed that we have the capacity to work together and gave us an opportunity to work towards better understanding,’ he said.

Other juvenile justice Reconciliation Week and Sorry Day activities included Aboriginal dancers and traditional storytellers visiting Malmsbury Juvenile Justice Centre to encourage young people to celebrate and share Aboriginal culture.